Frances and Patrick Connolly woke up a hell of a lot richer on Friday morning.
A couple from County Down who won £114.9 million (approximately €127.5 million) in the Euromillions have been named as Frances and Patrick Connolly.
On Thursday, it was revealed that the winning jackpot had been claimed in Northern Ireland, the fourth largest Euromillions jackpot ever claimed in the United Kingdom and €14.5 million bigger than the €113 million won by Limerick woman Dolores McNamara in 2005.
When you see the cheque for the first time!
Meet Frances and Patrick Connolly, our £114.9M #EuroMillions WINNERS!! pic.twitter.com/UQxdd4gtxv
— The National Lottery (@TNLUK) January 4, 2019
While it was initially claimed that the couple hailed from Armagh, Frances Connolly clarified in a press conference on Friday morning that she writes her address as County Down; the town of Moira, where the Connollys reside, is close to borders with both Armagh and Antrim.
The couple won the jackpot after playing the New Year’s Day EuroMillions draw on Tuesday, where the winning numbers were 01, 08, 11, 25 and 28, with Lucky Stars 04 and 06.
Speaking to reporters on Friday morning, Frances Connolly said that the couple were “overwhelmed” by news of their big jackpot win, saying: “This is a massive sum of money and we want it to have a huge impact on the lives of other people we know and love as well as on our future too.”
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